Source:- Google.com.pkGirls Photos Wallpapers BiographySteve McCurry (born April 23, 1950) is an American photojournalist best known for his photograph, "Afghan Girl" that originally appeared in National Geographic magazine.Contents [hide]1 Early life2 Career3 "Afghan Girl"4 Kodachrome5 September 11, 20016 Awards7 Publications8 References9 External links[edit]Early life

Steve McCurry was born on April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia,[1] attended Penn State University. He originally planned to study cinematography and filmmaking, but ended up getting a degree in theater arts and graduating cum laude in 1974. He became interested in photography when he started taking pictures for the Penn State newspaper The Daily Collegian.[2]After working at Today's Post in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania for two years, he left for India to freelance. It was here that McCurry learned to watch and wait on life. “If you wait,” he realized, “people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.”[edit]Career

His career was launched when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled areas of Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion. When he emerged, he had rolls of film sewn into his clothes. Those images, which were published around the world, were among the first to show the conflict. His coverage won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, an award dedicated to photographers exhibiting exceptional courage and enterprise.McCurry continued to cover armed conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq War, Lebanon Civil War, the Cambodian Civil War, the Islamic insurgency in the Philippines, the Gulf War and the Afghan Civil War. His work has been featured worldwide in magazines and he is a frequent contributor to National Geographic. He has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1986.He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Magazine Photographer of the Year, awarded by the National Press Photographers Association. The same year, he won an unprecedented four first-place prizes in the World Press Photo contest.McCurry focuses on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on the landscape, but rather, on the human face. “Most of my images are grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape, that you could call the human condition.”Steve McCurry is portrayed in a TV documentary The Face of the Human Condition (2003) by French award-winning filmmaker Denis Delestrac.[edit]"Afghan Girl"

McCurry took his most recognized portrait, "Afghan Girl", in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. The image itself was named as "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the National Geographic magazine and her face became famous as the cover photograph on the June 1985 issue. The photo has also been widely used on Amnesty International brochures, posters, and calendars. The identity of the "Afghan Girl" remained unknown for over 17 years until McCurry and a National Geographic team located the woman, Sharbat Gula, in 2002. McCurry said, “Her skin is weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is as striking as she was all those years ago.”[edit]Kodachrome

Although McCurry shoots both in digital and film, his admitted preference is for transparency film. Eastman Kodak let him shoot the last ever produced roll of Kodachrome transparency film, which was processed in July 2010 by Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas and will be housed at the George Eastman House.[3] Most of the photos, excluding a few near-duplicates, have been published on the Internet by Vanity Fair. "I shot it for 30 years and I have several hundred thousand pictures on Kodachrome in my archive. I'm trying to shoot 36 pictures that act as some kind of wrap up - to mark the passing of Kodachrome. It was a wonderful film."[edit]September 11, 2001

September, 11th 2001 photosMcCurry returned from an extended assignment in China on September 10, 2001."I live by Washington Square Park, and my office has a view of Lower Manhattan. I was there, going through mail with my assistant, when we got a phone call saying that the World Trade Center was on fire. I looked out my window and saw both towers were on fire. I got my camera bag and went up on the roof of my building and started photographing the towers. We didn’t even know it was a plane, because we were up on the roof without the radio or TV. We all thought it was a fire that would eventually be put out—a terrible disaster, I mean both towers were on fire. I figured I’d shoot it from my roof for about 20 minutes and then go down to the base. And then they just fell. I was in a state of disbelief. They were just gone. It didn’t seem possible. Like you’re seeing something but you don’t really believe what you’re seeing. Even though I had seen them implode and there was all this smoke, it was not in the realm of possibility for the towers to be gone. It felt like we were living inside a dream, or rather a nightmare. After they fell, my assistant and I ran down to Ground Zero to photograph the situation there. It was surreal. There was this very fine white powder everywhere and all this office paper, but there was no recognizable office equipment—no filing cabinets, telephones, computers. It seemed like the whole thing had been pulverized. It was just dust, steel and paper. We were there until 9 at night. Then I walked home, but I couldn’t sleep. So I got up at 3:30 in the morning and walked back down there. As you can imagine, there was serious security: police, firemen, soldiers. But it was very clear to me this needed to be documented. I knew I had to do whatever I had to do to get back down there. I found a way to sneak in by cutting through a fence, and it allowed me to spend the morning of September 12 there. I eventually got removed by the police. They were really angry—the police, the firemen, everyone down there; emotions were running very high. One fireman threatened to beat my brains in with a shovel. I understood their position completely. From their point of view, we were there as tourists or spectators, when really we were there to record history, to create a record of this evil deed. The records of photography and magazines and radio and television are how we’re informed and how we know what’s going on in the world. This was something that absolutely had to be documented, and that’s what I do."[edit]Awards

2011Leica Hall of Fame AwardSt. Moritz, Switzerland2011Prix LiberPressGirona, Spain2009Abrogino D’OroMilan, Italy2006Lowell Thomas GOLD2006First Place, Buddha Rising, National Geographic, Dec. 2005National Press Photographers Association2006Honorary FellowshipNew Zealand Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP)2005Honorary FellowshipThe Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, London2005Photojournalism Division-International Understanding through Photography AwardPhotographic Society of America2003The Lucie Award for PhotojournalismInternational Photography Awards2003Distinguished Alumni AwardPennsylvania State University2003Co-recipient of the New York Film Festival Gold for documentary, Afghan Girl: Found"New York Film Festival2002Distinguished Visiting FellowCollege of Creative Studies, University of California2002Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causaFairleigh Dickinson University, NJ2002Photographer of the Year - PMDA Professional Photographer AwardPMDA2002Photographer of the YearAmerican Photo Magazine2002Special Recognition AwardUnited Nations International Photographic Council2002Award of Excellence for "Women of Afghanistan"French Art Directors Association2001Award of Excellence, Book Series: "South SouthEastPhotography Annual, Communication Arts2000Book of the Year: "South SouthEast"Magazine Feature Picture Award of Excellence: "Women in Field, YemenPicture of the Year Competition1999Lifetime Fellow AwardPennsylvania State University, PA1998Our World Photo Winner, "Red Boy"Our World Essay Finalist, IndiaLife Magazine: 'The Eisenstaedt Awards'1998Award of Excellence, Portraits: Red BoyPicture of the Year Competition1998Southern Asian Journalistic Award: Outstanding Special Project: National Geographic Story, India: 50 Years of IndependenceSouthern Asian Journalistic Award: Outstanding Photograph: Red Boy1997Magazine Feature Picture Award of Excellence: FishermenPicture of the Year Competition1996Magazine Feature Picture Story Award: '"BeggarMagazine Feature Picture Story Award: Burma: The Richest of the Poor CountriesPicture of the Year Competition1994Arts and Architecture Distinguished Alumni AwardPennsylvania State University1993Award of Excellence for Rubble of WarNational Press Photographers Association1992Oliver Rebbot Memorial Award: Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad on Gulf War CoverageOverseas Press Club1992Magazine Feature Picture Award of Excellence: Fiery AliensFirst Place, Magazine Science Award: Camels under a Blackened Sky First Place, Gulf War News Story: Kuwait: After the StormPicture of the Year Competition1992First Place, Nature and Environment: Oil-Stricken Bird, KuwaitFirst Place, General News Stories: Kuwait after the Storm Children's Award: "Camels under a Blackened SkyWorld Press Photo Competition1990Award of Excellence, "Spanish GypsyWhite House News Photographers Association1987Medal of Honor for coverage of the 1986 Philippine RevolutionPhilippines1986Oliver Rebbot Memorial Award: Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad for work done in the PhilippinesOverseas Press Club1984Nature Category, First PlaceNature Series Category, First place Daily LIfe Category, First Place Daily Life Series, First PlaceWorld Press Competition1985Oliver Rebbot Award Citation: Monsoons and The New Faces of Baghdad1984Magazine Photographer of the YearNational Press Photographers Association1980Robert Capa Gold Medal for coverage of the war in Afghanistan for Time Magazine[edit]Publications